Grade 3. Poetry. Unit 4

Transcription

1 Grade 3 Poetry Unit 4

2 The Star Spangled Banner By: Francis Scott Key O say can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there; O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved home and the war's desolation. Blessed with victory and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust." And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! [

3 The Flag Goes By H.H. Bennett HATS off! Along the street there comes A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums, A flash of color beneath the sky: Hats off! 5 The flag is passing by! Blue and crimson and white it shines, Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines. Hats off! The colors before us fly; 10 But more than the flag is passing by. Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great, Fought to make and to save the State: Weary marches and sinking ships; Cheers of victory on dying lips; 15 Days of plenty and years of peace; March of a strong land s swift increase; Equal justice, right and law, Stately honor and reverend awe; Sign of a nation, great and strong 20 To ward her people from foreign wrong: Pride and glory and honor, all Live in the colors to stand or fall. Hats off! Along the street there comes 25 A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums; And loyal hearts are beating high: Hats off! The flag is passing by!

4 George Washington Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet Sing hey! for bold George Washington, That jolly British tar, King George s famous admiral From Hull to Zanzibar! No wait a minute something s wrong George wished to sail the foam. But, when his mother thought, aghast, Of Georgie shinning up a mast, Her tears and protests flowed so fast That George remained at home. Sing ho! for grave Washington, The staid Virginia squire, Who farms his fields and hunts his hounds And aims at nothing higher! Stop, stop, it s going wrong again! George liked to live on farms, But, when the Colonies agreed They could and should and would be freed, They called on George to do the deed And George cried, Shoulder arms! Sing ha! for Emperor Washington, That hero of renown, Who freed his land from Britain s rule To win a golden crown! No, no, that s what George might have won But didn t, for he said, There s not much point about a king, They re pretty but they re apt to sting And, as for crowns the heavy thing Would only hurt my head. Sing ho! for our George Washington! (At last I ve got it straight.) The first in war, the first in peace, The goodly and the great. But, when you think about him now, From here to Valley Forge, Remember this he might have been A highly different specimen, And, where on earth would we be, then? I m glad that George was George.

5 Washington Monument By Night By: Carl Sandburg The stone goes straight. A lean swimmer dives into night sky, Into half-moon mist. Two trees are coal black. This is a great white ghost between. It is cool to look at, Strong men, strong women, come here. Eight years is a long time To be fighting all the time. The republic is a dream. Nothing happens unless first a dream. The wind bit hard at Valley Forge one Christmas. Soldiers tied rags on their feet. Red footprints wrote on the snow and stone shoots into stars here... into half-moon mist tonight. Tongues wrangled dark at a man. He buttoned his overcoat and stood alone. In a snowstorm, red hollyberries, thoughts, he stood alone. Women said: He is lonely... fighting... fighting... eight years... The name of an iron man goes over the world. It takes a long time to forget an iron man

6 A Nation s Strength Ralph Waldo Emerson What makes a nation s pillars high And its foundations strong? What makes it mighty to defy The foes that round it throng? It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand Go down in battle shock; Its shafts are laid on sinking sand, Not on abiding rock. Is it the sword? Ask the red dust Of empires passed away; The blood has turned their stones to rust, Their glory to decay. And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown Has seemed to nations sweet; But God has struck its luster down In ashes at his feet. Not gold but only men can make A people great and strong; Men who for truth and honor s sake Stand fast and suffer long. Brave men who work while others sleep, Who dare while others fly... They build a nation s pillars deep And lift them to the sky.